Buckle for cotton-ties, &amp;c.



L. W. SWAFFORD.

BUCKLE FOR COTTON TIES, &c. APPLICATION FILED AUG- I2, I910.

' 1,13,870, Patented Dec. 14, 1915.

COLUMBIA PLANUOR-APH cm, WASHINGTON, D.c.

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LEVI w. SWAFIEOBD, OF VICKSBUR-G, MISSISSIPPI, ASSIGNOB. OF ONE-.HALF T0 IBENJAMlN w. GRIFFITH, or VIGKSBUBG, MISSISSIPPI.

BUCKLE FOR COTTON-TIES, &0.

Application filed August 12,1910.

- T016 whom/it may concern.

Be it known that I, LEVI WV. SWAFFORD, of

. Vicksburg, in the county of Warren, and in the State of Mississippi, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Buckles for Cotton-Ties, &c., and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

The object of my invention is to provide a buckle for cotton ties, etc., which will be simple and inexpensive of construction, easy of manipulation for securing or releasing the strap or band, and withal capable of tightly and securely holding the bale or object to be bound, and to these ends, my invention consists in the buckle constructed substantially as hereinafter specified and claimed.

In the accompanying drawingsFigure 1 is a perspective view of a cotton tie buckle embodying my invention, shown with contiguous portions of the band attached thereto. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof; and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the buckle and pin alone, separated from each other.

My buckle is in the form of an oblong open frame 10, comprising two openings, a comparatively long one 11 and a comparatively shortone 12, but both of the same width, the width being somewhat greater than the width of the tie or band 13, whose ends are to be joined by the buckle. The frame 10, therefore comprises two parallel side members, and three parallel cross members, and is conveniently and cheaply formed of a single piece of wire that is bent so that each free end of the piece is similarly but oppositely bent, to form parts of the two transverse members 13 and one of the side members 14: that constitute the short opening 12. Thus all four sides of the short opening 12 are closed, and the two transverse members 13 are a double thickness of Wire.

As clearlv shown in Fig. 2, the sides of the larger opening 11 are bent so that the cross member or bar 15, that forms the outer end of said opening lies in a lower plane, with the result that a loop 16 on one end of the tire or band, being passed over said bar 15 and into the frame opening 11, may have a loose pin or bolt 17 passed through it, so that end portions of said pin engaging the inclined parts of the frame sides, will interlock therewith and thus securely hold Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 14, 1915.

Serial No. 576,819.

the looped end portion of the tie or band. The band-engaging surfaces of both the pin 17 and the end bar 15 are serrated or roughened to increase the friction of the band and said parts. At one end the pin 17 has a substantially flat, or disk-shaped head 18, which engages the outer side of the adjacent side bar of the buckle, and restrains the pin from endwise movement in that direction, while its contact with the bale bagging will prevent endwise movement of the pin in the opposite direction. At its other end, the pin has a head or enlargement 19 but its inner sides are inclined or beveled, giving said head the form of the frustum of a cone, so that the head 19 though acting by contact with the adjacent frame side, to restrain endwise movement of the pin 17 under ordinary conditions, yet, by means of blows, applied through a concave-headed punch, the pin may be driven endwise to pass it out of engagement with the buckle and band loop, and thus avoid cutting the band or injuring the buckle, when the bale is to be released.

In using my buckle, the tie or band is doubled to form the loop or bend 21 at one end, and said bend 21 is passed through the larger opening 11, until the free end of the bend 21 can be passed upward through the smaller opening, so that the bight of the loop or bend 21 can be caught over the inner double cross bar or member 1 1, and thence, the doubled band passed over the outer double cross bar or member 1 1, the free end of the band being undermost, and thus cov ered or secreted. Thus a double lock of the band and buckle at this end of the buckle is secured. The buckle then with one end of the band attached to it, as described, is ready for application of the tie to the bale, and is next laid upon the bale with the concave sides of the frame toward it, that is with the convex sides 01' bow outward or uppermost. The loose or long end of the band or tie being now passed around the bale, and all slack possible being taken up, the free end of the tie is bent to form the pin-engaging loop 16, the bend being at a point which will locate the loop well within the larger frame opening 11, so that the loop 16 may be pressed down into said opening in position to enable the lock pin 17 to be passed therethrough as I have before described in the bow or upward bend of the sides of the buckle, whereupon, pressure on the bale being released, the expansion or rebound thereof will cause the pin 17 to be moved into locking engagement with the inclined sides of the frame opening 11. The free end of the loop 16 is also concealed or secreted by the overlying band.

It will be seen that the upward bend of the buckle sides greatly facilitates the in sertion of the pin, the pocket or arch standing clear of the material of the bale, and is equally convenient in the process of disengaging the tie by forcibly driving the holding pin 17 endwise out of the loop in the band. It will be seen that the provision of a head at one end of the pin which is of such taper that While presenting such enlargement that the pin is impossible of removal by accident or jars, can withal readily be driven from place and detached, is also of great importance in the practical application of the tie. Both ends of the pins may be made tapering if desired, or any other construction that insures a reduced diameter of the part of the pin that is engaged'within the loop of the band.

- lVhat I claim is w A cotton tie buckle comprising an open frame composed of wire round in cross section that is bent to form side and end cross bars, one of said end cross bars being adapted to be engaged by a tie loop, and the side bars contiguous to the other end cross bar being bent laterally, said last named end cross bar being adapted to be engaged by the other tie loop, the space between said side bars being provided to receive said other tie loop, and a pin that passes throughr the portion of said loop lying between said side bars, said pin engaging the inclined surfaces formed by the bend, of the side bars. i

In testimony that I claimthe foregoing I have hereunto set my hand. 7

LEVI WV. 'SWVAFFORD.

lVitnesses I C. E. THEOBALD, H. MARCUS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, 1

Washington, D. C i 

